Alternate Realities
by Charbonne
Summary: A collection of alternate reality stories based on Digimon Adventures and Digimon '02. Rated R for abuse, violence, and drug use. Be warned.


The first of ten chapters about alternate realities for each digidestined in '01 and '02. I might do '03 and '04 characters if I get ideas for them, but I haven't watched enough of either season to get an idea. This first one is about Kari and Tai, and what happened in their story. I admit they might be really depressing, but I admit, I'm kind of a depressing person myself.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. It used to be owned by Toei, until Disney bought it from them. If I had known Toei was selling, I would have bid myself.

**__**

Alternate Realities: Tai and Kari's Story

Taichi opened the door into his sister's room and stared quietly into the crib. His sister, Hikari, was laying there, only a few days old. His parents had just brought her home that day, and he was still curious as to how something as small as her could make grownups stare and exclaim over how cute she was and how lucky his parents were. Tai knew better than that. After a couple of years, the compassion would wear off and then they would treat her like him. He didn't know her that well, but he honestly didn't want her to be slapped around. He was only four, and since he didn't go to school yet, they didn't try to hide the bruises they had given him. Nevertheless, when he did start, they would be extra careful. He knew some of his friends didn't get treated like him, because he had asked. They normally got whacked on the bottom for something bad they did, but he got much worse. He even had a scar above his left eyebrow from where his dad got drunk and lashed at him with the cord from the vacuum. 

Whenever his friends would ask, he would tell them what his father had told him to say. That he was extremely klutzy and he fell, or he hit something, or he cut himself on something. It was always the same stories, and they never questioned him on it. He was scared of his father, but since he was too small to do anything, he never questioned it. Until today. He had asked why Hikari didn't get smacked when she started wailing, and his dad had gotten angry and punched him. Now he knew that things were different when they were little. He just wondered how long it would take until she received the same punishments as him.

As he was staring into the crib, Hikari opened her eyes and burst into a loud keen. Tai covered his ears and backed away, wondering what was going on when he saw his mom and dad run into the room. His mom Emiko grabbed Kari out of the crib and hugged her close, murmuring softly and rocking her. His father Heizo Kamiya, however, glared at him, and as his mom left, he exploded. "Why the hell did you wake her up!?"

"I-I didn't," Tai stammered. "She just started crying and…"

"I don't want excuses, boy. I want the truth." He glared at him, making the boy feel uncomfortable. "What did you do to her?"

"Nothing!" Tai cried, tears streaming down his face. "Why don't you believe me?"

"Because you've always been bad!" Heizo yelled. "You're a fucking jackass when it comes to being good!" He raised his hand, then thought better of it. He walked out of the room, dragging Tai with him until he reached his room. Emiko was in the other room, feeding Hikari, and didn't see the look of anger on her husband's face. He shut the door and glared at Tai, who was crouched in a corner trembling.

Heizo picked up a belt and started beating Tai, and the boy's consciousness disappeared in a pain-filled haze.

***

Tai winced as he heard a sharp cry from inside of his sister's room. He knew that his four-year-old sister shouldn't have gotten into the ice cream before dinner, but his mom had said it was alright. Evidently it wasn't by his father's views, but Kari had trusted her mother without question. Now she was getting punished, and eight-year-old Tai couldn't do anything for her. All he knew was that when it was over, he would go into her room and cuddle with her, trying to get the tears to stop. 

He started to put his clothes away, making sure that his room was immaculate before his dad decided that her punishment was over and went to check on his son. When the yelling wouldn't stop, Tai got worried. He didn't think it was that bad of an offense, but it always seemed like his sister was a worse kid than him. He didn't see anything different than him, but Heizo contributed it to the fact that all little girls were evil. 

When his sister's misery got to be too much, Tai shut his drawer angrily. Why was his dad hurting her so badly? His curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to go into her room to find out exactly what was going on. When he opened the door, the screaming stopped, but the sight disgusted and horrified him. There was Kari, curled into a ball, sobbing and covering herself, but Tai realized that she was naked. Heizo was zipping up his pants, and turned around when he heard Tai open the door. Tai stood there, mouth agape and wondering just what in god's name had happened, when he felt his dad punch him across the jaw.

"What the hell are you staring at, boy?" 

His father's words cut into his mind, and Tai looked up, terror etched across his young face. "Why is Kari naked, daddy?" he asked, trying to make sense of the predicament.

"Get out!" Heizo rose a fist, threatening to punch him, but Tai was watching his sister.

"What happened?"

"I told you to get out, so either obey me, or you'll get your ass fucked up!" His dad was hovering above him, looking as though the entirety of his wrath would come down upon the younger boy. When Tai still wouldn't move, he swung at his son, catching him in the mouth. Tai staggered back, head reeling as a coppery taste of blood filled his mouth. Heizo took advantage and punched Tai in the stomach, making the boy fall to the ground. Tai felt hot tears fill his eyes as his father kicked him in the stomach repeatedly.

"Daddy, please stop!" Kari cried, going to her brother, but got kicked in the stomach instead.

"I told the both of you to obey the rules," Heizo spat, "but you had to continue to, didn't you?" He stopped kicking the siblings and stormed out of the room.

Tai stood up slowly and winced. He was sure that at least one of his ribs were cracked, but that didn't matter when he saw his sister. Kari was on the ground, wheezing as Tai noted bruises forming all over her small body. "God, Kari, are you ok?"

Kari tried to stand, but had to stop as she doubled over in pain. Tai caught her before she fell and hugged her close. "Hold on," Tai said, "I'll get some clothes for you."

He reached over to her dresser and opened it up. He drew a pair of pants and a long sleeved shirt out of the drawer when Kari asked, "Does daddy hate us?"

"I don't know," Tai admitted. "He's always been like this to me."

"Why?"

"Because we've been bad." Tai personally didn't want to tell her that wasn't right, that his teacher had called a guidance counselor to talk to him about repeated bruises. His dad had really given it to him when social services had come by to investigate the premises. "What did dad do to you?"

"I don't know. It wasn't like all of the other punishments." Kari choked back a sob as she pulled on the proffered clothing. "Did he do anything like that to you?"

"No," Tai stated. 

"Maybe it's because I'm worse than you…" 

Tai hugged Kari. "No, you're not worse than me. Dad's just, weird."

They both turned around when they heard the front door open and shut. Tai got the bold idea to investigate who it was when he noticed that no one was home. He then decided to do something drastic. If they stayed where they were, his dad would do that bad thing to Kari again, and he knew it wasn't right. "Kari," he said quietly, "I have an idea. Get some clothes together in my old backpack. I'll get some of my own in my other one. We're getting out of here."

"Where are we going?" Kari asked, fear in her voice.

"Away from here. I don't think we can go to my friends' houses, dad knows where they are. We're running away." Tai then turned to leave the room and Kari grabbed his hand.

"What if daddy catches us?"

"He won't." Tai said, determined. He left the room and returned with a backpack. He gave it to Kari, who started piling her clothes into it. He left the room to do the same, and grab some things from the kitchen. He didn't care if he starved, but he'd be damned if Kari went hungry on his account.

Kari met him in the living room; the bag on her back looking like it could bust at any moment. Tai smiled sadly before opening the door. "Ready?"

Kari nodded, and the two children walked out of the house.

***

Tai couldn't remember a time when he felt so free. When he first decided to run away, he hadn't realized how great it was to be free of his dad's abusive ways. They wandered around for days, happy and content to be together, until the first tragedy hit. They had run out of food. Tai didn't worry about himself, but his sister was another matter. On the second day without food, she complained about being hungry. He didn't have any money, but decided to do something he had been taught was wrong. He started stealing. First it was snacks that he could lift easily from stores, and then it progressed to things that they could have for the entire day. Kari had started begging, and got money that way. It was easy for her to, seeing as she was so young and small. 

They lived like that, stealing and begging, until something else happened to them. On the third month of their escape, someone stole their bags. Tai had woken up to thrashing and saw his sister struggling to keep her bag. The man grunted and pulled a knife out of his pocket. He held it up to Kari's neck and demanded that they give them the bags or else he'd kill the girl. Tai relinquished the bags reluctantly, and the guy ran off into the night. They didn't sleep again that night. 

Other than that, they were happy. They didn't worry about their dad, and they had fallen into a group of runaways. Tai could admit that their life was hard, but it was worth it to get away from the man that could end it so abruptly. They had been declared missing for three years before Tai even noticed. Kari was starting to forget the events in her early childhood, and Tai was glad. Their wounds were long since healed, and he started to consider the people he was with to be family. Kari had even started to call the eldest girl mom. He knew that Misako didn't mind, but he worried that she would forget their own mother.

They were returning to the shelter when Tai first noticed the car following them. Kari was humming a song she had heard in a store next to him, completely unaware of the sudden change in Tai's mood. He didn't recognize the car, but he realized who it was that was driving it. "Kari," he whispered, "get to the shelter. Run."

"Why?" She paused and then realized what he meant. Heizo Kamiya was driving the car. She didn't need a second urging to break off and run. Tai started running, but gasped as he realized the car had sped up and stopped at the intersection ahead of them.

"Kari!" Tai yelled, and motioned the other way as he turned on his heels and ran the other way. Kari hesitated, but turned around, too. Heizo swore and slammed the door shut as he got out and raced after them. He reached Kari easily and caught her around the waist. Kari screamed as she struggled. Tai turned back around and ran toward them. He didn't want Heizo near Kari, and as he reached the older man, he swung, his fist connecting with Heizo's face.

Heizo staggered, and he let Kari go. Tai had enough time to tell Kari to run before he found himself getting kicked in the stomach. "Damn brat," Heizo swore, and Tai was gasping for breath. The man swung his fist, and it connected with the side of Tai's head. Tai blacked out instantly.

Kari watched helplessly as the man she knew to be her father beat the living daylights out of her brother. She screamed, and as Heizo stepped away from her brother, she saw a pool of blood growing at her brother's head. Heizo started toward her, but was stopped as another man punched him in the back. "Get away from them," the new person stated, and dodged out of the way as Heizo swung at him. He tossed him easily, and held him down as he tossed a cell phone at the girl. "Call the cops," he advised, and as Kari shakily dialed the number, she watched as a crowd surrounded the four. 

Another person checked Tai's pulse and smiled grimly as he sighed. "He's still alive," he exclaimed to the other person. Kari let out a breath she didn't know she had and started speaking to the woman on the other end, telling her what had happened.

***

Tai awoke in a hospital room, wires attached to him as they monitored his vitals. Kari was sitting in a chair next to him, and it looked like she had been crying. "kari…" he said, his voice sounding unusually weak, "where are we? are you ok?"

"Tai!" she squealed. "You're all right!"

"yeah, i guess. what happened?" Tai didn't like the way his voice sounded, and his head throbbed as he spoke.

"Daddy found us, remember? He started beating you, but a guy stopped him from doing anything else." Tai frowned as he tried to remember any of it. He shook his head and looked at Kari.

"Sorry, I can't remember a thing," he said, watching Kari's own face sadden.

"Maybe it's better like that. You not remembering, I mean. He was very violent when he did it…" Kari said slowly.

"What'll happen to us now?" Tai asked. He didn't want to see his sister disappear. He had been taking care of her for the past three years. He didn't want to lose her now.

"We're getting taken to a foster parent's house. They'll take care of us until we get a new home." Kari's face broke into a big grin. "Maybe they'll let us have a cat. Remember Meeko talking about it to us? She used to have a brown and white one, and she said it was the cutest thing she ever knew!"

They both laughed, though Tai had a difficult time. Afterward, they both were silent, watching the window as they saw birds flying past. "Tai," Kari said hesitantly, "I don't want to leave you. I was really worried when they took you in that am bull lance."

"Don't worry," Tai said, smiling at his sister, "we'll always be together."

Tai shut his eyes, suddenly feeling very weak. Kari reached over and hugged him, but stopped when she didn't hear him breathing. "Tai?" she asked, and started screaming when a loud beeping noise answered her.

End of the first story…

I hope you enjoyed it! As for me, I have to work on Matt and TK's now. Ciao!


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